Rome

Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. It is located on the Tiber and Aniene rivers, near the Mediterranean Sea, at {{coor dm|41|54|N|12|29|E|type:city(2,546,807)_region:IT}}. The Vatican City, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church and the home of the Pope.

Symbols and trivia

Rome is commonly identified by several proper symbols, including the Colosseum, the she-wolf (Lupa capitolina), the imperial eagle, and the symbols of Christianity. The famous acronym SPQR recalls the ancient age and the unity between Roman Senate and Roman people.

Related Topics:
Colosseum - Christianity - SPQR - Roman Senate

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Rome is called "L'Urbe" (The City), "Caput mundi" (head of the world), "Città Eterna" (eternal city), and "Limen Apostolorum" (the threshold of the apostles).

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The town's colors are golden yellow and red (garnet): they stand, respectively, for christian and imperial dignities.

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Rome has two holidays of its own: April 21 (the founding of Rome), and June 29 (the feast of its patron saints, Peter and Paul). Other locally important dates are December 8 (the Immaculate Conception) and January 6 (Epiphany).

Related Topics:
April 21 - The founding of Rome - June 29 - Peter - Paul - December 8 - Immaculate Conception - January 6 - Epiphany

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The Grande Raccordo Anulare (commonly shortened "Il GRA" or "Il Raccordo"), which is more than 80 km long, once encircled the city. Rome has since grown past this round motorway, with new districts well beyond it.

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Some proverbs about the Eternal City:

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• When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
• All roads lead to Rome.
• Rome wasn't built in a day.
• Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's.

During its long history, Rome has always had a scarcity of native inhabitants, so by tradition a "true" Roman is one whose family has lived in Rome for no less than 7 generations: this is the original "Romano de Roma" (in Romanesco, the local dialect of Italian).

Related Topics:
Dialect - Italian

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For the Lega Nord, Roma is the symbol of the allegedly parasytical Italian government, crystalized in their slogan Roma ladra ("Thief Rome").

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